Professional Translation: Client's Terms & Conditions

1. Introduction

1.1 Professional Translation provides specialist assistance to individuals, companies, organisations and government agencies and institutions with respect to translation and interpreting services in multiple languages. Professional Translation also undertakes business project management and industrial co-ordination involving multiple languages on behalf of Customers.

2. Definitions

2.1 In these Terms & Conditions, the following meanings shall apply:

"Professional Translation" means Professional Translation, a business includes any employee, agent or other person that it engages to assist in the provision of these services. "Customer" means the person, company, organisation, agency or institution for whom services are provided by Professional Translation.

"Services" means the agreed services to be provided by Professional Translation.

"Charges" means the charges invoiced by Professional Translation for the provision of these services.

3. Services to be provided

3.1 Professional Translation will provide the Customer with interpreting and/or translation services and/or co-ordination or project management involving the languages required. Professional Translation is available to provide assistance on short or urgent notice but any request made by a Customer should be confirmed immediately in writing, by fax, or by e-mail to avoid any unnecessary delay in starting the required work.

3.2 You agree that Professional Translation will not be asked to enter into any contract involving the translation or interpretation (or the provision of any other service) of material which may, in the opinion of Professional Translation, be judged as libelous or of an illegal nature. It is presumed that the Customer has obtained all relevant consent and permission for the use of any copyrighted material which exists in texts or transcripts to be worked upon by Professional Translation. If any claims, costs or expenses arise from the provision of copyrighted or otherwise illegal material by the Customer, the Customer shall be responsible for all such costs.

4. Charges

Interpreting Services

4.1 Professional Translation’s interpreting charges are based on half day or daily rates for interpreting services or advisory work. The level of these charges depends upon the complexity, the urgency and the nature of the Customer's requirements (including the use of specialist and technical terminology and the volume of documents provided by the Customer for the purpose of preparation). Daily rates are based on an 8 hour day (09:00 – 17:00 basis) with coffee breaks and at least 1 hour for lunch.

4.2 Where there has been no lunch break or a reduced break as set out above, an agreed hourly charge (usually the hourly overtime rate) shall be payable. On some occasions, the daily rate for simultaneous interpretation constitutes 6 hours interpreting but this will be specified on the quote.

4.3 For court interpretation assistance, if and when cross-examination of (expert) witnesses begins, the customer shall procure an assistant to be on hand to aid the Interpreters with the documents being put to the witnesses, preferably in both language pairs.

4.4 Any arrangements for overnight accommodation for the interpreter shall be agreed upon prior to the assignment. All accommodation, travel and subsistence expenses including Per Diem shall be payable by the customer. Time spent travelling will be charged at a rate agreed upon prior to the beginning of the assignment.

4.5 For work on weekends, statutory, bank and public holidays and/or for evening and night work after 9pm, daily rate, half day rate and hourly overtime rate shall be further increased by 50%.

Preparation time and reference materials for interpreting services

4.7 Reference materials necessary for the interpreter to properly prepare for the Job, such as all preparatory and background information and relevant materials (including pre-hearing materials such as witness statements and expert reports, in the case of legal/court interpreting assignments) shall be sent to Professional Translation as soon as the job is confirmed. Ideally these should be received 14 working days prior to the start of any project, but if unavailable, should be received no later than 72 hours prior to the start of the assignment. If these materials are not made available before this time, Professional Translation shall not be liable for any complaints regarding the quality of the interpreting services provided.

4.8 Preparation time for highly technical and/or sizeable documents shall be chargeable at an hourly rate for hours actually spent on reviewing materials. This shall
be confirmed prior to the assignment. The number of hours necessary for preparation depends on the volume, the nature and complexity, such as the specialist/technical terminology of preparation materials provided by the Customer, and any requests from the client, i.e. basic understanding of technical aspects or thorough study, including extensive internet research. In some cases, this charge may be equivalent to one/two day/s interpreting.

4.9 For terminology that is unique to the organisation, company, or project for which the Services are provided to the Customer, the Customer shall provide a glossary of those terms wherever applicable in advance of the interpreting assignment.

4.10 In the case of death, sickness (including any mental illnesses unknown to Professional Translation prior to the assignment) or injury of an interpreter prior to or during anassignment, Professional Translation shall attempt to find a replacement interpreter, but shall not be held liable if a suitable replacement cannot befound.

Recording of interpreting services

4.11 No recording of an Interpreter’s work shall be made without the Interpreter’s and Professional Translation's prior consent, except where such recording is inherent within legal proceedings. Recordings, which are intended for broadcast or publication, will incur an additional fee of between 20 and 50 per cent of the daily rate depending upon the purpose of the recording.

4.12 The Customer is liable for unauthorized recordings by third parties. Each further use (for example direct transmission) requires a separate contractual agreement.

4.13 The performance of conference interpreters is protected under international law. The Berne Convention provides protection for the interests of authors; translations are protected as original works and translators are protected as authors. When fixed in material form, of any nature whatsoever (printed, sound or audiovisual recording, records, discs, magnetic tapes, videograms, slides, films, wire, cable, transparencies, photocopies, microcards, or any similar method) including availability via the Internet, the performance of the conference interpreter becomes a translation within the meaning of the Berne Convention and the exclusive rights foreseen in the Convention apply to the author.

Translation Services

4.15 Translation charges are dependent upon the number of source words or characters, the source and target languages, the urgency of the work, the nature and complexity of the content of the text and the specialist and technical terminology involved.

In the case of documents that have not been viewed by Professional Translation prior to confirmation and acceptance of the quote, the amount shown in the quote is subject to change from the estimated word count upon which the quote was based, to the actual source word count, and/or according to the complexity and nature of the actual document. The quote may also be subject to change if a document for translation is altered or changed in any way after the translation work has commenced (for example if it is extended, shortened, edited or the deadline changed) or if services in addition to those quoted are required.

Since translation is a subjective process, there may be several ways to translate a source text and Professional Translation Services CompanyGLOBALshall not be held liable for a reduced marketing or advertising effect of the source text after translation. Professional Translation shall not be liable for any loss of profits, revenue, contracts, business, or damage to the Customer’s reputation, and/or any other indirect or consequential loss or damage whatsoever.

For terminology that is unique to the organisation, company, or project for which the Services are provided to the Customer, the Customer should provide a glossary of those terms, wherever applicable, in advance of the translation being carried out. Professional Translation shall not be liable for discrepancies in any translated products if the terminology is unique and has not been provided in advance. Professional Translation is, however, happy to accommodate alternative vocabulary upon request from our Customer once our submission has been made.

4.16 Professional Translation’s standard charges are reviewed annually and, if appropriate, amended on 1st January of each year. In the absence of a quotation for the work undertaken, the rates in force at the date of invoice will apply.

4.17 Professional Translation will also be pleased to undertake work at a negotiated fee, subject to our proposals being confirmed or accepted in writing by the Customer.

Payment

4.18 Professional Translation will invoice the Customer upon the completion of the work for any one item of work. Where the work is ongoing, Professional Translation may send out an interim invoice at the end of each month. 100% payment of the invoice amount shall be made within 30days of the date of invoice. All payments shall be made without deduction or set-off of bank charges. The Company reserves the right to charge Customers any bank transfer fees and expenses and any other currency conversion costs in addition to the Charges. For foreign currencies, the exchange rate will be that of HSBC Bank on the appropriate day.

4.19 In the event that payment has not been received by Professional Translation after 30 days, a reminder requesting payment will be sent to the Customer and any discounts or reductions on the quoted price will cease to be applicable (they will become null and void).

For overdue invoices, Professional Translation reserves the right to charge a daily charge calculated from the total invoice amount at 8.5% per annum above the base rate of the Bank of England to all overdue sums from the date on which they first become due until they are paid in full (under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 and compensation arising from late payment under section 5A of the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act1998).

Failure to pay any invoice in accordance with the foregoing terms, or other terms specified in the Contract, shall entitle us to suspend further work both on the same order, and on any other orderfrom our Customers, without prejudice to any other right we may have.

4.20 If Professional Translation should seek the services of a law firm, solicitor, or debt collection agency to assist in the collection of the payment from the Customer, then the Customer agrees to pay Professional Translation the full costs and commissions charged by the law firm, attorney, solicitor, or debt collection agency for such services plus an additional administration fee of £300.00 to compensate Professional Translation for the time required to collect the outstanding payment.

4.21 For all United Kingdom Customers, Professional Translation shall add onto the Charges Value Added Tax (VAT). For all other Customers, the Charges will exclude Value Added Tax and any other similar sales taxes, as appropriate, which shall be payable by the Customer in addition to the Charges.

5. Customer Restrictions (Non-Solicitation)

5.1. The Customer shall not have any direct contact with the interpreter(s), translator(s) or proofreader(s) supplied by Professional Translation; all communication with Professional Translation linguists must be made through Professional Translation. In the event of any breach under this clause, the Customer shall pay to Professional Translation an amount equal to the aggregate remuneration paid by Professional Translation to the freelance linguist or other employee for the year immediately prior to the date on which the Customer committed a breach of contract.

6. Confidentiality

6.1 PrivacyPolicy

You can find details of our Privacy Policy at Professional Translation Services Company

Professional Translation will treat all of the information it encounters concerning a Customer or the Customers’ business as confidential and will not use or disclose any such information without the Customers’ consent unless otherwise required by law. If necessary, a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) can be put in place upon request.

7. Cancellation of work

7.1 If the Customer, following written or verbal confirmation, (if the latter, this will be followed by written confirmation from Professional Translation), cancels those services, Charges shall apply as follows:

A. Interpreting:

A cancellation fee shall apply as stated in the quote issued for the cancelled Services.

B. Translation:

If the Customer cancels any previously commissioned or agreed upon translation services, they will be liable for 100% of the cost of any work done on the assignment up until the point of cancellation, including any expenses incurred by Professional Translation Services Company in the course of doing said work. For any outstanding work, 50% of the previously agreed upon translate rate will be applicable.

C. Urgent translation:

If the Customer cancels previously confirmed services within 24 hours prior to the agreed time at which those services were scheduled to occur, they shall pay the full amount of the cost of those services plus any expenses incurred by Professional Translation as a result of the cancellation.

If the Customer cancels previously confirmed services within 48 hours prior to the agreed time at which those services were scheduled to occur, they shall pay 50% of the full cost of those services plus any expenses incurred byProfessional Translation Services CompanyGLOBAL as a result of the cancellation.

8. Liability

8.1 Although Professional Translation will endeavour to provide a fast and accurate service for all Customers, we restrict our liability for any fault on our part (except in respect of death or personal injury caused by our negligence) to the amount paid by the Customer or otherwise payable in respect of the relevant services or to the sum of £1000.00, whichever is thelower fee.

8.2 Professional Translation will not be liable for any perceived loss of business, profits, revenue, contractsbytheCustomerordamagetotheCustomer’sreputationasadirectorindirect result of the workcarried out by Professional Translation Services CompanyGLOBAL.

8.3 Professional Translation shall not be held liable for the consequences of any delays or performance, or failure to arrive or perform if the delay or failure is due to shortage of labour, exceptional weather conditions, industrial action, hostilities, governmental order or intervention (whether or not having the force of law), an act of God, fire, inclement or any other cause whatever beyond Professional Translation’s control. Professional Translation will not be liable for any loss of profits, revenue, contracts, business, or damage to the Customer’s reputation, and/or any other indirect or consequential loss or damage whatsoever.

8.4 If a Customer is dissatisfied with the work carried out by Professional Translation, then they must express this dissatisfaction in writing within 5 days of receiving the finished work. Professional Translation shall endeavour to correct any errors or omissions caused by negligence on their part, to the satisfaction of the Customer. If Professional Translation Services Company does not receive any complaints within 15 days upon the submission of translation work, Professional Translation Services Company shall have no liability nor obligation regarding errors in translation.

9. Termination

9.1. Professional Translation shall be entitled to terminate the Contract or proceedings with the Customerat any time via written notice if:

• The Customer commits a breach of the Contract and, in some cases, fails to remedy the breach that is deemed amendable within 7 days of receipt of a written notice fromus.

• The Customer becomes bankrupt, is subject to an administrative order or goes into liquidation or any situation that threatens its financial backing and cedibility as a Customer.

10. Health and Safety

10.1 Professional Translation acknowledges its statutory responsibility to co-operate with the Customer Company's health and safety requirements, provided that Professional Translation is given notice of these. Whilst on Company premises Professional Translation interpreters and staff shall be afforded by the company the same protection for health and safety purposes as is due to its employees. If required by the company to enter the premises of a third party, the Customer will ensure that the third party also affords such protection to our partners and staff as is due to its employees.

11. Force Majeure

11.1 Professional Translation shall not be liable in any way for failure or delay in performing our obligations under this engagement if the failure or delay is due to causes outside the reasonable control of the party in default, such as, but not restricted to, accident or injury, delay or cancellation of flight or train, natural disaster, severe weather conditions, fire, industrial action, acts of war, and any other situation which can be shown to have affected the ability of Professional Translation to carry out the agreed work or services.

12. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

12.1 These terms of business shall be governed by and in accordance with the laws of England and Wales and any dispute arising out of this engagement or these terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

13. Email delivery/electronic file delivery

13.1 Emails and files sent electronically by Professional Translation are expected to arrive swiftly and intact. If the Customer does not receive an expected email/file within 24 hours, Professional Translation urges the Customer to contact us and request a resubmission. If an email sent from Professional Translation is received satisfactorily on one or more than one occasion, any non- delivery will need to be resolved on the recipient’s side. Professional Translation will send an email to an alternative email address upon request.

14. Notices

14.1 All notices or other communications under a contract shall be sent in writing to the Customer’s place of business (in the case of a company, it is the business address set out in the invoice Order), or to other addresses given by the Customer or to the address of the Customer to which normal communications relating to the contract have been or are being sent in the ordinary course of business.

These terms and conditions are subject to change without prior written notice.

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